This is my third cruise but my first cruise with RCI. My 2 previous cruises were with Carnival and I am wondering if disembarkment(specifically clearing customs) is different on RCI. AS a Canadian citizen we had to get up at 6:30am on the last morning and wait in line to clear customs while still on board the ship. When we left the ship at 8:30 we noticed that the American passengers cleared customs after they left the ship. We are on a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas so Key West is not on our itinerary. (I have read some stories about that customs experience.) I am travelling with my 11 year old daughter so I would just like to manage her expectations about what time we have to get up our last morning!

royalcruiser

03-22-2009 06:19 PM

I was on a RCI cruise last October in and out of Miami. They asked forgein citizens to disembark from the rear of the ship and american citizens from the front. Everyone cleared at the same times. You could either get off right away or you could wait until it cleared out a bit...

BTW.... RCI is so much better than carnival.

spoheating

03-23-2009 04:29 PM

All I can say is that I have cruised RCCL 10 times and have never had anyone yell "are you ready to party" into a microphone by the pool--not once. I don't need to be on a ship that is that "fun".

Dave

03-23-2009 04:52 PM

Been on Carnival lately? It is in many ways superior to RCI although on average they are equal.

However, enough thread drift. The topic is debarkation in Miami and not a debate of the merits of one line over another. Customs decides on the processes used for debarkation and not the cruise line. When a cruise ship - of any line - arrives at the debarkation port it is under quarantine by Customs and Border Protection. The clearance process can depend on the ship and the terminal logistics for CBP.

amalloy

03-24-2009 08:42 AM

i have a different question on disembarkment im Miami. i will be having a family member picking me up after my cruise what time should i ask them to be there ? i would no want him waiting for ever on me.

Dave

03-24-2009 08:59 AM

9am? They can't wait in their car at the terminal pickup area but the website says there is short term parking for $7. You could call them once you cleared the terminal.

penny3333

03-24-2009 11:12 AM

Bon Voyage amalloy. Dave has a great suggestion, just give them a call once you are out of the terminal. That is, unless they live more than an hour away. There are benches you can wait on and it's not terribly hot in the morning.

amalloy

03-24-2009 04:21 PM

we live in palm beach aprox. 1.5 hr away depending on traffic so i will have him to plan to meet us about 9 its been nice here lately! im extremely excited and this week is going by sooo slowly.
thank you!

penny3333

03-25-2009 08:19 AM

The week leading up always goes soooooo slow, but once on board-whosh, it's back to work-yuck! Traffic from Palm Beach during rush hour is horrible, so maybe they could just leave and have breakfast somewhere near the port. When we went out of Miami, I stayed in Lauderdale and drove down to Miami to pick up my cruise mate. We came to a dead stop around 130th ave., never did see a wreck. It took us nearly an hour to find the Hertz drop-off location in downtown Miami. What a mess!